Reykjavik, Iceland

In January - February 2012, I spent six weeks in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Most people would wonder why would an American travel to Iceland in wintertime: we had blizzard conditions almost everyday, I wore a coat and thermal underwear, and the sun rose at 11am only to set at 4pm, making for short days.

On the flip side, I entered museums and tourist sites practically by myself with no wait in any lines. Service at the restaurants was superb as waiters could afford to give me individual attention, and the hostel where I stayed offered me an attractive rate since I was one of only a handful of off-season guests.

Wintertime in Iceland is a magical time for solitude and quiet especially for a writer like myself who enjoyed holing up in my cozy room with hot cocoa amid falling snow blanketing the city.

Below is a slideshow of Iceland in winter. Make sure you see the captions written at the top and bottom of some of the photos. Hit "play" and the slideshow will scroll automatically, about 6 seconds for each slide.

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